Manufacture of resin soap.



UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HE RMAN Gr. SCHANCHE, 0F PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, AND FRANKE STUARTHAVENS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNORS TO HARRISON BROS. & 00.,INC., 01 PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, A CORPORATION OF PENNSYLVANIA.

MANUFACTURE OF RESIN SOAP.

No Drawing.

To all whom "it may concern:

Be it known that we, HERMAN G. SCHAN CHE, of Philadelphia, in the countyof Philadelphia and State of Pennsylvania, and F RANKE STUART HAVENS, ofHartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, thepresent post-office address of both being Thirty-fifth and Grays Ferryroad, Philadelphia aforesaid, have invented a certain new and usefulImprovement in the Manufacture of Resin Soap, whereof the following is aspecification.

Our invention relates to the manufacture of the so-called resin soapwhich is employed as the foundation of size for making paper, oranalogous products, and its object is to so conduct the preparation ofan acid resin soap as to'permit the control of its physical condition,as Well as 'its chemical constitution, the desiderata being to obtainthe products in a substantially desiccated state, admitting-of a highdegree of comminution, and to preserve uniformity and definitecomposition, so that when the soluble portion is dissolved in water, thefree resin shall be completely diffused in the condition desired foruniform incorporation into the fiber of the paper, or similar material.

Resin soap, as known in the arts, is primarily a resinate of soda,usually carrying indefinite quantities of uncombined resin, oruncombined soda, or both, and ordinarily existing or used in aqueoussolution.

In order to distinguish our process from those commercially practiced,or suggested in the literat ire of the art, the following explanation isproper Commercially, the most usual method employed for the manufactureof resin soap is conducted in what may be termed the wet way, that is tosay, thealkaline ingredients are added in a state of true aqueous s0-lution, water being present in such quantity as to initially obtain theresin soap itself in the form of an aqueous solution. This processvaries from the crude hap-haaard methods employed in many paper mills,where the ingredients are simply boiled together and used upon the spot,to the more definite processes where it has been attempted to preparethe resinate of soda in a more or less concentrated aqueous's'olutionintended to be subsequently reduced by the addition- I of water whenabout to be used. It has also Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Feb. 20, 1912.

Application filed February 15, 1907. Serial No. 357,506.

been attempted to evaporate a resin soap, initially obtained in a formof solution, down to dryness so as to obtain a hard residuum. Processeshave also been suggested for the manufacture of resin soap, consistingof the melting together of resin and an excess of alkali, the latterbeing in a dry condition, the intention being to obtain a productdistinctly alkaline in its chemical constltution and soluble in coldwater. We have discovered that by adding to an excess of melted resin,the alkaline ingredient combined with water in quantity onlysufficientto efiect dilfusion, and to prevent undue segregation of thealkali, and not suflicient to initially form a solution of the resinsoap, the water will disappear during the re-action itself, and at atemperature which may be but slightly in excess of the melting point ofthe resin, say 170 or 180 degrees F ahrenheit, at which temperaturepractically no injurious reaction or partial decomposition is likely tooccur, and that we can thus obtain a thoroughly uniform and definiteacid soap in a state of substantial desiccation. The product cansubsequently be reduced by grinding to any desired degree ofcomminution. \Ve are thus enabled to obtain an acid resin soap in thephysical condition best adapted for shipment as an article ofmanufacture, and to definitely control its chemical constitution, sothat the user can convert it into size of any desired strength, by theaddition .of known quantities of water.

In the conduct of our process we proceed as follows :-By the applicationof properly controlled heat, we melt the resinous ingredient, preferablyrosin, either in its natural condition, or purified by any availableprocess, thetemperature being preferably maintained at a point notsubstantially exceeding 180 degrees Fahrenheit. To an excess of rosinthus melted, we add the alkaline ingredient, which latter may becrystalline carbonate of soda, or soda ash.

As a typical formula for use with one hundred pounds of rosin in itsnatural condition, we preferably employ thirty-two pounds of crystallinecarbonate of soda, adding the latter gradually in a ground or comminutedcondition, and stirring the melted mass until the reaction is complete.The mass will solidify by cooling, as distinguished from positiveevaporation, and will a form),

be found to be in a substantially desiccated state, which permits itsphysical reduction into the form of powder or of lumps of such size asmay be desired. The product is an acid resin soap, which is not entirelysoluble in water, but which has the characteristics that its saponifiedportion is soluble, and that the free resin carried thereby consists ofminute particles so uniformly distributed as to be properly diffused insuspension when water is added, thus affording the properties bestadapted for its ultimate use.

Referring now to the reaction which has taken place, it will be notedthat the crystalline carbonate of soda itself carries a certainpercentage of water,that is to say, of

i the thirty-two pounds added, water constitutesabout twenty pounds, andsoda twelve pounds. The presence of this amount of water is sufiicientto cause proper diffusion, and prevent segregation of the soda.

When soda ash is emplo ed as the alkaline ingredient, instead 0 thecrystalline carbonate of soda, an amount of water not substantiallygreater than that carried by the equivalent amount of crystallinecarbonate, should be employed as a vehicle to effect diffusion of thesoda ash and prevent the segregation thereof. Thus, if I twelve poundsof dry soda ash be employed with one hundred pounds of melted resin, theaddition of twenty pounds of water to the dry soda ash, wouldsubstantially reproduce the conditions existing when the crystallinecarbonate of soda is used. The method of pro-' cedure in the case of themoistened soda ash issimilar to that ust described for the crystallinecarbonate, and the result of the two processes is substantiallyidentical.

' .As a possible explanation between a process conducted in the wet wayand our process, which is-conducted in the presence of a permissibleamount of water, but without forming a solution of the resin soap, wesuggest that in the latter case, the water may act merely by hydrolysis,without ever becoming a solvent of the resultant product. Whether thisexplanation be correct or not, we have found that as conducted by us,the direct product is a liquid or semiliquid mass, whose physicalcondition is due to liquefaction by heat, as distinguished from anaqueous solution, and that either the water substantially disappears asa direct incident to the so-called saponifying process, or, if retainedto any extent, does not injuriously modify the true desiccated characterof the soap, since the final stage of our process, (2'. e, that inwhichit passes from the liquid or semi-liquid state into a solid is notde endent upon evaporation,

but is substanti'a 1y only a cooling process.

We term this resultant condition of the product inherently desiccated,in order to distinguish it from that. condition which obtains when theresin soap is' first formed as a solution, and is afterward sought to bedried by an evaporating process.

Distinguishing between our process and those of the other type abovementioned, which were not technically conducted in the wet way, we statethat the melting together of the ingredients with the alkali in a truedry condition, tends to produce segregation, so that the product is nota uniform one, and furthermore, so far as We are aware, such processeshave been addressed to the formation of an alkaline resin soap which isnot properly available for the uses for which our product is intended.We therefore desire it to be understood that we do not claim themanufacture of resin soap as a true solution, and the subsequentevaporation thereof to dryness, nor do we claim the manufacture ofalkaline resin soap by the melting of an excess of alkali together withresin, since none of these processes involve the essential principle ofours, and

since the products are markedly different production of desiccated resinsoap, as an article of manufacture.

Having thus described our invention, we claim 1. The rocess ofmanufacturing a desiccated aci resin soap, which consists in adding toan excess of melted resin, soda combined with an amount of watersufficient to cause diffusion and prevent undue segre ation of the soda,but not suflicient to e ect solution of the entire mass and notsubstantially exceeding the percentage of water which is contained incrystalline carbonate of soda; and thereby forming an acid resin soap inan initial state of non-aqueous liquefaction; and causing the resultantproduct to solidify by cooling, substantially as set forth.

2. As a new composition of matter an inherently desiccated acid resinsoap in a state of substantial comminution throughout, not entirelysoluble in water and containing free resin uniformly diffused throughoutits mass.

In testimony whereof,'we have hereunto signed vanial, this ninth day ofFebruary 1907 'HERMAN G.. SCHANCHE.

FRANKE STUART HAVENS.

Witnesses:

JAMES H. BELL, E. L. FULLERTON.

our names at Philadelphia Pennsyl-

